Posted on 12/08/2008 1:11:28 PM PST by Rick Deckard
(CBS/AP) An F-18 military jet crashed in a San Diego neighborhood on Monday, sparking at least one house fire.
It wasn't immediately clear whether anyone was injured, said Maurice Luque, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Television news footage showed one house and two cars on fire.
Fire crews were at the scene of the crash, which occurred near Interstate 805, reports CBS affiliate KFMB in San Diego.
The plane crashed shortly before noon Monday as it prepared to land at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, said Ian Gregor, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman. The crash occurred two miles from the base.
The pilot ejected, Gregor said.
"We saw two big bangs," resident Scott Patterson told KNX radio. "The smoke came up. We don't know what it was."
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that massive traffic jams have snarled traffic in the area, making it difficult for firefighters and police to reach the crash site, according to witnesses.
The F-18 is a supersonic jet used widely in the Marine Corps and Navy.
Miramar, well known for its role in the movie "Top Gun," is home to some 10,000 Marines. It was operated by the Navy until 1996.
A number of Freepers were present in December of ‘69 when a pilot bailed out of an F8 on approach to Miramar and the aircraft flew right into the open door of an occupied hanger. I covered the story and, yeah, it was a lot worse.
I’m annoyed that the local news-’babes’ are already second guessing the pilot’s actions, but I guess that’s to be expected.
The crash occurred in University City. The article does not quite make that clear.
The article I posted was the first round of info. The initial report radio I heard said I-805 & Genesee Avenue.
There’s a large hospital complex there (Sharp Hospital & Children’s Hospital) As I said earlier, it could have been a LOT worse.
That should be south of the crash site. Other coverage specifically mentions University City.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jetcrash9-2008dec09,0,5856840.story
Since this is the Los Angeles Times, the article contains the obligatory MSM urination on the military:
"This guy could have turned it around and put it in the ocean. He was never going to make it to Miramar."
(Yes, Mother! LOL!)
Did it hit my old digs on the beach @ Imperial Beach? That would be a sad day, indeed...
No RIO in a Hornet. GIB is a WSO.
I’m a good 20 miles from the crash site. I need to send you FR mail.
I’m up to date on the locale now. The intial reports were pretty vague, as usual.
Given the volume of activity at the field, I'm pleasantly surprised at how few accidents have occurred. The Marines had to set down a helicopter on a city street just a few months after moving into Miramar. Aside from being an odd occurrence, there was no harm from that event.
It’s a high volume operation with a pretty fair safety record. I grew up in San Diego and I can recall Miramar in the 50’s. I wouldn’t have wanted to have a house in Sycamore Canyon back then, either. When Camp Elliott shut down they lost a bit of their south side flop space.
Looks like three lost. Read a post from a firefighter on another site saying one of the kids hasn’t been found.
That's a sad situation. Many of my ham buddies helped when the PSA flight crashed in North Park. That was a huge mess as well.
Do you remember when that F-14 (I think it was) crashed near the 15 and Poway Road in the mid to late 80’s? I can’t find any reference to it on the internet. I’m starting to feel like it never happened.
In grew up at the south end of North Park, two blocks from where the temporary morgue was set up in the PSA incident. In the 50’s, I walked to Wilson Junior High school every day. My route took me up Nile Street. One of the guys I went to high school with was a patrol officer at the time of the crash and got drafted to help out at the scene. He said a lot of his fellow officers were permanently impacted by the experience.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.